Odette becomes severe tropical storm as it heads for West PH Sea

What’s the weather like in your area? Report the situation through Rappler’s Agos or tweet us at @rapplerdotcom.

MANILA, Philippines – Tropical Storm Odette (Khanun) strengthened into a severe tropical storm and slowed down on Friday afternoon, October 13, as it began moving away from land and heading for the West Philippine Sea.

In a bulletin issued past 5 pm on Friday, state weather bureau PAGASA said Odette is already 205 kilometers west of Sinait, Ilocos Sur, moving west northwest at a slower 15 kilometers per hour (km/h) from the previous 24 km/h.

Odette now has maximum winds of 90 km/h and gustiness of up to 113 km/h. (READ: FAST FACTS: Tropical cyclones, rainfall advisories)

Even though Odette strengthened, there are no more areas under signal number 2 since the severe tropical storm is already over water. Odette earlier made landfall in Santa Ana, Cagayan at 12:40 am on Friday.

Signal number 1, however, remains raised in the following areas:

• Ilocos Norte
• Ilocos Sur
• La Union
• Pangasinan
• Batanes
• Babuyan Group of Islands

Provinces under tropical cyclone warning signals should watch out for possible floods and landslides.

Aside from those areas, PAGASA said western parts of Northern Luzon and Central Luzon will experience moderate to heavy rain, which may also trigger floods and landslides. Zambales and Bataan, in particular, should be on alert.

The rest of Luzon, including Metro Manila, as well as the Visayas and Zamboanga Peninsula should expect more light to moderate rain.

Sea travel also remains risky in the seaboards of Northern Luzon and in the western and southern seaboards of Southern Luzon.

Odette is expected to leave the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) on Saturday, October 14.

Weather conditions will improve beginning Saturday. – Rappler.com